San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-01-08
30 N N IE D @ O N.
A LOVE S1OR Y.

Kind, brisk, sensible, without one
dash of poetry or romance in her whole
compositions without the least touch
of sentiment in her character,-Lady
May was just the woman to help a man
fight his way through the world. She
was a woman of quick, unerring judy
ment, clear, shrewd sense and great
decision. She had looked quite calmly
round the world of men, and the rising
barrister, the heir of Grange Court, was
the man she liked best. His handsome
face and easy charm of manner pleased
her as much as his great intellect and
strong brain. She was most gracious
to him when they met, and he-under-
stood.
He made her an offer of marriage,
and she accepted it. They were en-
gagged and discussed their marriage and
their future as calmly as they discussed
politics and the weather. There never
had been any emotion or sentiment
about the matter. Lady May was hon
estly fond of him. She thought him the
rising man of the day. She knew that
her money, her position, her great con-
nection would all be the greatest value
to him, and she was quite content.
There had been no foolish love-making,
nor kissing.-Lady May did not believe
in such things. 1t would be plain,
sensible, substantial marriage. Eric, too,
had been quite content.
They would have been married that
year but for the fever, and Lady May
had decreed now they must wait until
the mkt year: Eric must quite recover
his strength and health She had urged
him IT, go and visit his friends. telling
him that he would be much better at
tended to than in lodgings, even in the
best farmhouse in the world: but the
doctors so strongly recommended per-
feet quiet and absence of all society,
that he had obeyed them in preference,
and had chosen the farmhouse lodging.
Again Lady May was quite content.
Her lover would recover health and
strength there. He must write once or
twice each week to her She was going
to visit some friends in Scotland, but if
he were still at Larch Hill when she re-
turned to England, she would run down
with her aunt to see him for few hours.
Most sensible arrangements, just as the
marriage itself was most sensible; no
nonsense, no sentiment.
What had all this to do with girl
who had dreamy, lovely, blue eyes in
which slept the tremulous dawn of love?
He had never dreamed of Lady Nays
eyes, why should he dream of these?-
why did they look at him from the white
clouds, the blue sky, the clear waters of
the brook, from the pages of his book?
Why was that exquisite face always be-
fore himp Lady May never blushed
and trembled before him; Lady May
was never shy; her eyes never dropped
from his; her voice never trembled or
faltered
What was it waking in his heart for
this girl that had surely never been there
before-a simple country girl? 1t must
be all nonsense. Very pleasant, he own
ed, while it lasted; there was not the
least harm in it, and it would not last
long.
and then he would be a kind friend to
the family at Larch Hill; he would come
and see them, he would send them pres
ents; and if in the meantime warm
friendship sprung up between himself
and the beautiful young daughter of the
house, there was no harm in 1t. Men
are selfish in their friendships as they
are in their loves; he thought only of
himself, not of her. He never said to
himself that if he were kind to her,
talked to her. sought her society, caress-
ed and flattered her, she might grow
fond Of him, and so blight her young
life. most men are incapable or looking
so far ahead, the present is everything
with them.
1t is new light, new life, new revela-
ton to him, but to do him justice, he did
not know that it was love; he was not
wicked, he was neither careless nor
reckless, he would not willingly or know
ingly have injured one hair of the girls
beautiful head, yet he was spelling and
blighting her life as surely as ever life
could be spoiled.
He yielded to his liking for her; he
spent the greater part of his time with
her; he talked to her of all that passed
through his mind; the homely accent
ceased to jar upon him, because her lips
were so sweet. He liked to caress the
waves of golden-brown hair, and he
never stopped to think how dangerous
for her those sweet caresses might be.
He gradually, slowly, surely. absorbed
her soul as the sun draws the dew. He
bad no thought of being untrue to Lady
May, but this girl was so sweet, so low
ing, so entirely irresistible. he might as
well be happy while he could,
Neither the good farmer nor his wife
saw anything amiss; they were secure
in one great fact that Laurence RaintOn
loved their fair, young daughter, and
would speak in his own good time. The